A few WPCentral readers have asked if it’s possible to snap more than two apps on the Surface Pro 3. The answer is yes. You can snap and run up to three apps side by side by default. Adding a fourth one requires some extra steps. The Surface Pro 3 has a 12-inch 2160 x 1440 resolution display, which is 38% larger than the Surface Pro 2. There’s definitely space for a third and fourth app, but it may feel too crowded depending on which apps you use. Head past the break to see how it looks on video.
First, open the app you want to run. Swipe in from the top edge of the screen and drag it to either side of the screen. Opening a second app will display it right next to the first app.
When you open a third app, its thumbnail hovers on top of the first two. You can drag it left or right until you see space opens up. After releasing your finger, you’ll notice that you now have three apps running at the same time.
Another way is to slide your finger in from the left edge, and then drag a recently used app towards the right until a divider appears. Move the app where you want it, and slide the divider to adjust the app size.
Here are the most frequent scenarios where I use 3 apps side by side on the Surface Pro 3:
- Tweetium + Internet Explorer + Netflix
- Tweetium + Internet Explorer + Internet Explorer
- Tweetium + Internet Explorer + Wordament Snap Attack
If you want to run 4 apps at the same time, you need to change a display setting. Go to settings – display, and select ‘smaller’ size for apps and text. We’re not fans of this option, but some of you may like it.
We don’t see ourselves snapping a third or fourth app frequently, but it’s nice to have those additional options. Planning to get the Surface Pro 3? Which apps do you plan on running frequently at the same time?
